Glossary of religious and spiritual terms

Words and phrases
starting with the letter "T"

A tent in which the Jews carried the Ark of the Covenant during the
Exodus.

A Mormon temple.

An early Methodist chapel.

A locked box on a Roman Catholic altar where the Host is stored.

Talit, tallit: A Jewish blue-and-white-striped prayer shawl worn
by married Jewish men in Orthodox synagogues and any adult Jew in
conservative synagogues.

Talmud: From the Hebrew word for "teaching." A body of Jewish
oral law and tradition assembled in written form. It is composed of two parts:
The Mishna, which is a rabbinic commentary on the Torah, and the
Gemara, a commentary on the Mishna. It exists in two versions: The more
important is the Babylonian Talmud, completed about 500 CE. The Palestinian
Talmud was completed circa 400 CE.

Tanakh (a.k.a. TaNaK, Tenakh, Tenak, Tanach, & Mikra): The Jewish Bible, a.k.a. the Jewish Scriptures. The
word Tanakh is derived from the letters of the Hebrew names of its three
components: Torah (a.k.a. Pentateuch), the Books of Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy; the Nevi'im (a.k.a.
Prophets); and the Ketuvim (Writings). "Mikra" is a Hebrew word meaning "that which is read."

Taoism:This religion of about 20
million followers was founded by Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary
of Confucius, and author of Tao-te-Ching. Taoism
started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into
a state religion in 440 CE At that time Lao-Tse became popularly
venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism,
became the three great religions of China. Much of Taoism has been destroyed since the Communist victory in 1949; it survives mainly in
Taiwan.

Tawheed: An Muslim word derived from the Arabic word "Wahhada"
which means to join, unite, or combine. In Islam the word refers to Allah
(God) and has many shades of meaning, including that God is without partner,
a unity, the sole creator and sustainer of the universe, without rival to
whom all worship must be directed.

Tefillin (a.k.a. phylacteries): Small black leather boxes worn by
Orthodox Jewish males on their forehead head and non-dominant arm at weekday
morning prayer. They contain passages from the Torah.

Teleological: A system of morality in which
the proper choice among two or more options is based on their practical
consequences. Whichever choice has the best (or least worse) outcome is
the moral decision. Antonym is deontological.

Temple: The term used by Buddhists, Hindus and others to refer to
their house of worship. The center for Jewish worship prior to 70 CE was the
Temple in Jerusalem. Recently, many Jews use "temple" to refer to the
synagogue.

Ten Commandments:A
set of about 19 different commands and prohibitions which are intended
to govern basic human behavior. Three versions appear in the Hebrew
Scriptures (Old Testament) at: Exodus 20:2-17, Exodus 34:12-26, and
Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

Tenet: an opinion, principle, dogma, belief, or doctrine that is
accepted as true, generally by a faith group.

Territorial Spirits: Many aboriginal religions, and some
Evangelical, Pentecostal and Charismatic Christian groups, teach that
supernatural forces are associated with a town, city, state, country or
other geographic region. Christian groups who believe in these spirits often
teach that believers have to aggressively engage in spiritual warfare to
defeat these spirits before Christian evangelism can proceed in the area
ruled by the spirit.

Terrorism: The use of extreme violence or the threat of
violence by states, groups or individuals to generate fear in individuals
and thus manipulate their behavior. Currently, most terrorism is either drug or
religion based. Some define the term widely to include topics like
spanking of children or the teaching of an
eternity of torture in Hell as forms of
physical or spiritual terrorism.

Teshuvot: A Jewish legal opinion.

Tetragram, Tetragrammaton: (From the Greek "tetra" (four) and
"gramma" (letter). It consists of four Hebrew letters: Yod, He, Waw and
He, transliterated as YHWH, JHVH or JHWH -- the name of God in the Hebrew
language. Often translated as "Lord" or mistranslated as "Jehovah" in
English versions of the
Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). It could never have pronounced as "Jehovah."
"Yahweh" is
probably a more accurate vocalization. Historically, within Judaism, the
name of God was neither spoken nor written.

Textual criticism: A study of biblical text, attempting to
identify the words of the original autograph copy and eliminate later
forgeries, spelling errors, etc.

Textualism: the belief that a biblical passage's ordinary meaning
should govern its interpretation, rather than study of the intent of the
author, the culture at the time the passage was written, etc.

Theist: A person who believes in the existence of a personal
God who is active in the universe. Sometimes used to include persons
who believe in the existence of multiple deities, but who worship only
one.

Theistic Evolution: The belief
that new species of animals develop from existing species over a very
long interval of time, in response to the guidance, supervision, and
intervention of a deity.

Theocracy: From the Greek words: "Theos" (God) and "cratein"
(to rule). A government in which the church and state are
unified. Such a union is generally has disastrous effects on human rights,
particularly for women, persons with a minority sexual orientation, persons with a minority gender identity, and various other minorities.
This form of government is common among Muslim countries.

Theodicy: From the Greek words "Theos" (God) and "dike"
(justice). Attempts to harmonize the goodness of God with the
existence of evil in the world.

Theological anthropology: The study of humanity from the standpoint
of our relationship with God.

Theology: From the Greek words meaning "study of deity." The study of religion.

Theology of displacement: A synonym for "supercessionism:" the concept that Christianity replaced Judaism because God
unilaterally abrogated his Old Testament covenant with the Jewish people.

Theophagy: The practice of eating the body of a god. This procedure
has ancient roots. It is performed symbolically in most Protestant communion
services. However, Roman Catholics believe that both the wine and wafer
consumed during Mass are the "real presence" of the body, blood, soul and
divinity of Jesus.

Theophany: "Theophany" means "to make known" or "to reveal."
It is usually used to refer to a direct communication from God to one or
more humans. Eastern Orthodox Christians observe a holy day by this name; it
recalls the baptism of Yeshua of Nazareth, allegedly on JAN-6 according to
the Julian Calendar. Eastern
Christians believe that Jesus' divinity was reveled at his baptism. The Western church celebrates the Epiphany
on JAN-6.

Theosis: (a.k.a. deification, divinization, participation in God) The concept that Christians can become participants in the life of
God, while not sharing in God's essence. The precise definition varies among Christian denominations and theologians. This is based, in part, on
2 Peter 1:4: "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature..."
2

TherapeuticTouch: A holistic health
practice in which the practitioner moves their hands above the patients
body, and balance or release the natural energy of the latter's body. This
is said to facilitating healing. A high school student conducted a series
of experiments for a science project, that proved that therapists cannot
measure body energy fields. This appears to destroy the credibility of
this therapeutic technique.

Therevada: A Buddhist term in Sanskrit that means the school or way
of the elders. It recognizes the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold
Path. Because it emphasizes personal liberation over collective liberation,
it is sometimes referred to as the Hinayana or "Lesser Vehicle" school of
Buddhism -- a derogatory term. It is found in Sri Lanka and throughout Southern
Asia.

Tikkun olam: A Jewish term usually translated as "repairing
the world." First used by Isaac Luria, a Cabbalist from the 16th
century. It describes the obligation of a Jews to do good works, promoting
peace, understanding, and help for the hungry, homeless and oppressed.

Tithe: The practice of donating 10% of one's income to the church. "Triple
Tithing" is also used; it consists of 13% of one's income, donated according to a
specified schedule.

Tolerance, General: The willingness to grant to other people
equal rights and freedom from persecution and oppression, irrespective
of their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, language,
nationality, language, ability status, marital status, etc.

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Tolerance, Religious: This very important term
unfortunately has multiple, very different, meanings.
Conservative Christians often believe that it involves the belief:

That all religions are the same, and/or

That all religions are equally true, and/or

That all religions are simply different paths to God.

Others define religious tolerance as:

Valuing the human right of other people to freely hold religious
beliefs which are different from your own, without oppression or
persecution. This is the meaning that we use in this web
site.

With such different definitions for the same term, dialog between
conservative Christians and others on this topic is almost impossible.

Torah: From the Hebrew word for
"teaching" or "law." The Torah,
(a.k.a. Pentateuch, or the Law) are the first 5 books of the Hebrew
Scriptures (Old Testament): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy. Most conservative Christians and Jews believe that they were written
mainly or entirely by Moses. There is a near consensus among other
theologians that they were written and edited by many
persons or groups of persons over a period of many centuries.

Total inability: Alternative description of the first
of the The Five Points of
Calvinism: the belief that it is
impossible for the ordinary "natural" human to understand the Gospel's
message. They are spiritually helpless. First, God must first decide to
intervene in the form of the third personality within the Trinity, the
Holy Spirit. Otherwise, the person is lost.

Total depravity: This is the first
of the The Five Points of
Calvinism: the belief that as a result of
Adam and Eve's disobedience to God -- the Fall of Man -- sin has extended
to all parts of every person's being: "his thinking, his emotions and
his will."

Tradition: a term used by Neopagans to indicate the group that
is being referred to. It is analogous to "denomination" in Christianity.

Traditional marriage: The union of one man and one women to the
exclusion of all others, freely entered into. Most of the
eight family and marriage types mentioned in the
Bible do not represent natural marriage. The term is typically used by
individuals and groups opposed to same-sex marriage
who wish to keep marriage as a special privilege offered only to
opposite-sex couples.

Traditionalism: In a religious sense:

The belief that, after death, unsaved people
will be tormented for all eternity of time in Hell
without hope of mercy or relief. This contrasts with:

Annihilationism
(a.k.a. conditionalism and conditional immortality) which teaches that these individuals spend only an
interval of time being tortured in Hell; they are then exterminated
and cease to exist, and

The belief that one is unable to learn fundamental metaphysical, moral or religious truths through the use of reason. It is must be an act of faith based on revelation.

Traditionalism: the concept that deity is remote from the world and the rest of
the universe.

Transcendence: Being beyond the limits of all human experience
and knowledge.

Transference of the Holy Spirit: The concept that a person can transfer or impart a
blessing to another person, often by physical contact, as in the laying on
of hands. In some Christian denominations, it is believed that one Christian
can transfer either demons or the Holy Spirit to another person by the
laying on of hands.

Transferability of sin: A
concept, supported by numerous biblical examples, in which the responsibility
and punishment for sinful
actions of one person can be ethically transferred to an innocent person. This
is one of the foundational themes taught throughout the Bible, but one that is
rarely acknowledged today. A
logical corollary of the transferability of sin is that the innocent person can be punished for the
behavior that they did not commit. This concept, considered immoral by all world religions,
naturally leads to the idea of collective responsibility.

Transfiguration:

In Christianity, this refers to the transfiguration of Jesus as
described in three of the gospels: Mark
9:2-13, Matthew
17:1-13, and Luke
9:28-36. Jesus climbed Mount Tabor with three of his
disciples, and was joined by Moses and Elija. All three appeared
clothed in dazzling white. Luke records how God's voice came from
the cloud, saying "This is my chosen Son; listen to him."
1

In the Harry Potter series of books for
children, transfiguration refers to the use of magic to change the
appearance of an object - e.g. from a toothpick to a needle.

Transgender: An individual whose
feelings of gender identity do not match their gender assigned at birth. Some
feel that they are female trapped in a male body, or vice-versa. Therapy has
had a zero success rate trying to harmonize the persons perceived and genetic
genders.

Transhumanism: This is not a religious or ethical term. We have
included it only because some people might confuse it with
Humanism. Transhumanism is "...an international
intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and
technologies to enhance human mental and physical abilities. They hope to
eventually eliminate disease, aging and death." 4 Potential technologies include virtual reality, gene therapy, space colonization, autonomous robotics, molecular manufacturing, etc.

Transmigration of the Soul: The Hindu belief that at death, a person's soul is reborn
into another living entity. Often, this is a new human. But if the
individual has accumulated a negative balance of Karma,
they may return as an animal. This term is often confused with
Reincarnation.

Transphobia: Any attitude, action or
institutional structure which systematically treats an individual or group
of individuals differently because of their gender
identity or their perceived gender identity. See also colorism, homophobia, racism, religism, sexism, shadeism, and transphobia for other forms of bigotry. The most common forms of transphobia in
North America is discrimination against transgender persons and transsexuals in
employment, accommodation, ordination, church membership, and church leadership. A secondary meaning of transphobia is fear or loathing of persons with a
specific gender identity.

Transsexual: An individual who is severely distressed by a
conflict between their assigned birth gender, and their personal feelings of
their actual gender. There is no standardized definition of "transsexual;"
however it is often used to refer to a transgender persons who is planning
or has gone through gender reassignment surgery and hormone treatment.

Transubstantiation: The belief, held by Roman Catholics, that
during the Lord's Supper, the Holy Spirit transforms the wafer and wine into the actual body
and blood -- and sometimes the soul and divinity -- of Jesus.

Tribulation: A period of seven years of great misery and death
when God pours out his hatred on humans. It is described in Revelation 14:9-16.

Trichotomy: The belief that a person is composed of three parts:
body, soul and spirit. An opposing belief, also justified by reference to
biblical passages is Dichotomy: In the field of religion, this is the concept that a person is made up of a body and
a soul, or of a body and a spirit.

Trickster: Within
Native American spirituality, a trickster is a mythical hero who teaches
culture, proper behavior and provides sustenance to the tribe.

Tridentine: Latin for "of Trent:" A Roman Catholic term
pertaining to the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563 CE.

Trinity:

The Christian belief that deity is simultaneously a unity and is
composed of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As the ancient
Athanasian Creed is worded, the Trinity is "one God" and "three
persons... and yet they are not three Gods, but one God." Extensive debate about the nature
of God and of Jesus split the Christian movement during the early centuries of the Church until this concept
was forced on the church by the Emperor Constantine.

The Hindu belief that Brahman is simultaneously visualized as
a unity, and as a trinity composed of: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu,
(Krishna) the Preserver, and Shiva the destroyer.

The belief among many Neopagans that the Goddess exists as a
trinity, composed of Maiden, Mother and Crone, representing energy
and sexuality, fertility, and wisdom.

Trinity, Economic: Christian concepts of how God has revealed
himself to humanity.

Trinity, Ontological: Christian concepts of how the three persons
in the Trinity relate to each other.

Tritheism: The belief in the existence of three deities. This
is one form of polytheism. A small minority of Christians believe that
God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three different entities, or that God and
Jesus are separate and the Holy Spirit is a type of force.

Trope:

A short phrase sung by a choir during a religious service to backup
words being spoken.

A figure of speech in which words are not used in their literal
sense; examples include a metaphor, simile, allegory, irony, etc.